Enchanted Runes I: The Feiwang Cards
by Meister Babylon
Summary: 4 years after sealing the Hope card, Syaoran kept his promise. He returns to Sakura's side and things are looking up. But a quake and a sprite's cry for help soon derails their plans. SxS, with other pairings along the way.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"I'm coming!" Sakura took a couple of steps back away from a yawning gap that divided her and Syaoran. It was big, yet Sakura felt no fear. In fact she felt all light and giddy… and somewhat invincible.

Her cry instantly snapped the boy in matching battle costume out of fatigue.

"Oi! Don't be silly!" Syaoran stepped forward arms half spread-eagled in anticipation of Sakura's stunt. The color had returned to his cheeks, and it told the world how flustered he had become in a second. "If you wait a little longer your strength would return—"

"No!" Sakura cut him off as she started striding forward, picking up speed as she charged towards the drop. "I can hardly wait!"

She dashed forward and, driving her feet down hard on the edge, flung herself to the other side where Syaoran had shifted into position, arms fully spread open this time.

"I love you!" she screamed as her body arched and bent back, her entire face brightened, her arms raised above her head.

Syaoran's face changed as he tracked her flight; she was dropping too fast too soon! In the next blink he leaned forward and let himself fall off the ledge head first. His sword materialized in his hand.

"Syao—?" Sakura pondered aloud when she realized what the boy had deduced. But before she let out a shriek Syaoran twisted himself around and locked an arm around her waist while swinging his master arm upwards and letting go most of the hilt except the tousle. It snaked out of the flying blade dragging a long thread as momentum carried the sword skywards till it lodged itself in a recess in the roof. The rappel snapped taut, jerking the plunging couple to a halt. Sakura quickly locked arms around Syaoran's neck.

"Don't you ever." Syaoran breathed as his furrowed gaze met hers. "Do that. Again."

Sakura however just burst out in giggles. Syaoran's brows went up as he looked at her like she'd gone loco.

The warrior looked down and to his surprise found themselves dangling only a few feet off the floor. Which he was sure was at least several times that just moments before he stopped their fall. Trying not to let his mind think about the consequences if he had been a split second slower, Syaoran let go and padded silently onto the earth.

"Syaoran! How did you do that?" Sakura practically screamed into young Lee's ear, squeezing him as the tension found its way out. "That was absolutely amazing!"

Syaoran just shrugged. "No. It was just for emergencies only." He didn't want to tell her the trouble it would take him to reset the life-saving device. Knowing her, she'd probably go crazy trying to help out. He shook his head at the thought and went back to gazing at Sakura's brown locks.

"You're the one who's truly amazing…"

"Syaoran-kun…"

He brought his free arm around Sakura's waist. The sorceress shifted herself until she stood facing him squarely. Their gazes met again, admiring in each other the handiwork that God and the morning light had created. They were so close... Syaoran could hardly resist the feeling welling up from inside as he inched his head forward. Sakura's eyes, half closed, followed slowly down his nose to his lips, her head nodding hypnotically closer still. They could hear the "doki doki" of each others hearts pounding away at each other's ribcage. Closer...

Syaoran suddenly jerked himself back. There was an anxious patter of footsteps. Syaoran and Sakura promptly untangled from each other just as Meiling and Tomoyo raced round a far corner. Fortunately for them the incoming pair was too far away to notice that the doushi and sorceress had gone all beet red in the face. Meiling waved frantically as she caught sight of the couple.

"Oi! Sakura-chan! Syaoran-kun! Is everything ok!"

Sakura quickly recovered and waved back. "We're okay! Everything's back to normal now!"

Syaoran watched his beloved cherry blossom with a smile. Even with the interruption, that moment they shared would become a memory that he vowed to never ever let time erode for one bit.

_Some time later that week..._

"I have to return to Hong Kong still. But I will be back!"

"When will that be?"

"When I've tied up all the loose ends over there."

"And when will that be?"

"I think I will take quite a while... Will you... wait for me?"

"...Hai! I will! I will wait for you... because... because...

**...Syaoran-kun is the one I really really really love!"**

TO BE CONTINUED...

**Author's Note: **Hi all! How have you all been when I was gone? For those sharp ones you'd find that the final conversation rather familiar no? You'd never find it in the anime that's for sure! In case my teaser sounds like I've absolutely no idea how to continue, I shall hereby clarify that I've got pretty much the whole of Enchanted Runes I planned out, just need to fill in some blanks and join some dots. I'll try to update as often as I can, though I might take up to a couple of weeks for long chapters. Oh and the position for beta is open so anyone interested to give me a hand (I really need it! XP) just drop me a mail. I hope you'll enjoy the ride. Stay tuned!


	2. 1st Opening: Innocent Starter

**Innocent Starter**  
_Vocals by Nana Mizuki_

Enchanted Runes I: The Feiwang Cards  
_1st Opening Theme_

_Orginally from: Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha_

INSTRUMENTAL

Up floats the Sakura Star, and it morphs into the Star Wand, its sigil glinting in its own polish. A strand of chestnut brown hair wafts in the breeze. A beaded charm holds it own against the encroaching darkness. A green sleeve covers the hand of a brave soul. A stack of cards spread out on the table. And Sakura looks to you...

**Enchanted Runes I: The Feiwang Cards**

The scene cuts to the next.

**Hiza kakaete heya no katasumi  
**_I was always so uneasy that I was shaking  
_**Itsumo fuan de furueteta  
**_hugging my knees in the corner of my room_

A limosine door opens, and out steps Daidouji Tomoyo dressed in Tomoeda High School uniform. She pads away elegantly, and is quickly followed by a set of two sunshaded bodyguards. The green-haired one looks away to check the area while the other in the foreground takes off his glasses, revealing that he is Kanazaki Kurogane. The scene then cuts to a classroom where Zashiki Warashi, dressed in an outdated uniform, looks out of the window forlornly, her hand on the sill. When then zoom in on her face and watch her bangs drift in the light wind.

**"Honto" wo shiru koto ga kuwakute**  
_I was afraid of knowing "the truth"_

Sakura skates round the corner, spinning past here, gliding through there. It almost as if she was leaving a trail of glittery life in her wake.

**Tobira wo tojita**  
_and closed the door to it_

It's then that Kero pops out of her book bag hugging her bento, and the Cardcaptor looks cross. (rather cutely!)

**Yasashii uso ni ibasho wo mitsukete**  
_Through a gentle lie, I found my place_

After a brief screen flicker, we zap to the Hong Kong night scene, at the penthouse atop Lee Towers. Syaoran is just sitting on the couch meditating while his spirit wolf Xue Lang rests on his paws seemingly asleep. The boy finishes the last stanza and before he turns in for the night he strokes Xue Lang on the head.

**Yume no naka ni nigekonda**  
_Taking refuge in my dreams_

Syaoran stands up, swings his jacket coolly over his shoulder as he walks out.

**Daremo shiranai kodoku no umi wo**  
_No one knows of the lonely sea_

Zhen Yang "Ryuuoh" walks down the street with his massive Zanbaken, wrapped in his Cloak of Insignificance, slung across his back and stops to look at a shop display. We then cut to a heavily backpacked Thomas Kluize, his Thousand Cross gleaming on his chest as he looks up from his map to check his bearings once more.

**Fukai ao ni someteku  
**_being dyed a deep blue color_

The screen is cleaved in half. On the left, the Star Key floats free of Sakura's necklace, and glints as the Sigil of the Star forms under her rapidly. On the right, the Shenqing Yupei starts to glow...

**Sabishisa kakusu**  
_Hiding my loneliness_

The Key extends and pinkens as clouds of mana pour into the unsealing _Fuuin no Tsue_. Meanwhile, the blinding-white _Fuuin no Ken_ grows as chi is fed into it, making in swell out and fill an invisible sword mould before solidifying into the real deal.

**Ichizu na omoi, kimi no KOKORO wo kizutsukete iru  
**_With sincere emotions, I wounded your heart_

Syaoran and Sakura, both dressed in matching battle costumes that change with every opening, grab their respective weapons out of the air. Sakura thrusts her Wand at The Fly; Syaoran presses the flat of the blade into a Seal. Wings sprout from the sorceress's back; swirls of clouds gather at the doushi's feet. They spring into the air, gaze at each other as they twirl around to join hands and burst into the clouds.

CHORUS

**Hitomi no oku no himitsu suikomaresou na  
**_I seemed to be drawn in by the secret in your eyes_

Ukiyora, her scythe-like wand held steady by her side, floats just off the roof of a building while Kiteno, totally swathed in his black cloak, takes the spot behind her. Ryuuoh and Thomas rush up to meet them, settling into dueling position, each side eyeing other, waiting for the first move.

**Egao no ura no shinjitsu ni -- yawaraka na ai boku ga todoke ni iku yo**  
_I'll draw out the truth behind your smile with the warmth of love_

A shadow that resembles Syaoran, with a massive lupine creature behind it, looks up with its blood red eyes and flashes a sick grin. Sakura tightens her grip on her wand apprehensively. Ukiyora's and Kiteno's weapons flare into power; Ryuuoh grabs Zanbaken's hilt as the Cloak unwraps itself while Thomas charges with a ball of Light in his hands. Avoiding the blasts created by their assisting magi, Kiteno and Ryuuoh clash, waraxe to bastard sword, sparks flying. A book of darkness opens its pages...

**Furetara kuwaresou na nukumori ga ima  
**_With a touch, the seemingly fragile warmth_

Cut to Fujitaka looking up from the book was reading and waves at the camera, unbeknownst that ghost Nadesiko was reading over his shoulder and was now beaming at the audience too. We cut to Naoko, Rika, Chiharu and Yamazaki looking back and laughing. Then, Kero flies in to give a thumbs up.

**Kakou wo hanare afuredasu  
**_will break free from the past and overflow_

Sonomi, arms folded and surrounded by body guards, eyes the camera with the corner of her vision. Touya and Yukito sitting on tatamis, shoulder to shoulder, with the older brother looking dead serious as always and Yukito wearing his eternal smile. We cut to Sakura and Syaoran standing back to back on the rippling surface of water. While Sakura's image was reflected in the waves, where you expect Syaoran to have one, there was none, as though he wasn't there...

**Zutto soba ni iru kara  
**_Because you are always by my side_

The sorceress looks down sadly, but a hand on her shoulder makes her turn around to see Syaoran there smiling back at her. Relieved, Sakura smiles in reply.

**Kanashii kage ni madowanai de...**  
_The shadow of loneliness will no longer lead me astray..._

Ryuuoh and Kluize drop out of the night sky one after another, the former punching a fist in the air while Kluize runs a hand through his white hair as Syaoran acknowledges them with nods. Light blinds the two newcomers suddenly, and everyone turns to face the rising sun as it banished the cold darkness. While there were four people there, only three shadows were cast...

A storm of sakura petals blot out the screen, and when they clear they leave the title slide:

Kha the Cleric's  
**Enchanted Runes I: The Feiwang Cards**

**Author's Note**

Sings: "Everybody hands up! Coz tomorrow our heros come back! Shout it out in a Countdown..." Yeap I'm back!!! I sorry I took so long to figure out what's wrong with ER, but now that its fixed, this story is on track once again! To reward you all for your patience, I'm making this a special bumper release! Over the next few days several special titbits like this Opening theme will be "screened", as well as the long awaited chapter of Enchanted Runes! Boy am I so so so excited! If you share my feelings too, or even if you don't, feel free to press that purple button and tell me what you think! Remember it all goes to making Enchanted Runes even better!

Hmm I better stop shouting and let you read in peace. Enjoy and I'll see you next Rune!


	3. 1st Ending: Sakura Hiyori

**Sakura Hiyori  
**_Weather of Cherry Blossom Petals_

Enchanted Runes I: The Feiwang Cards  
_1st Ending Theme_

_Vocals by: Mai Hoshimura  
__Originally from: BLEACH_

_(COME ON! IT SHOULD'VE BEEN ON TRC INSTEAD!!!)_

OPENING INSTRUMENTAL

As the koto plays, carefree petals flit across our view. And gradually, our view brightens...

**_Chuugaku de kimi to ai, hyakunen no koi o shita ne  
_**_We met in middle school, and shared a hundred year love_

We watch through the eaves of a great cherry blossom tree in full bloom. Sakura wearing the Tomoeda High School uniform stands in its shade, looking up at the mature petals. But they are not sheding; they were waiting, for the right time.

**_Hirahira to maiochiru Sakura no hanabira no shita de…  
_**_Beneath the gently fluttering cherry blossom petals…_

The screen slowly fades to another Sakura tree, this time in Hong Kong and viewed from below. Syaoran is sitting on one of the biggest boughs, with one leg hanging of the side, and the other crooked and braced against the branch. He leans against the trunk to watch the same sunset as Sakura, and in his lap are two orange colored papers that he holds pinched with to a white envelope. (For those who bother to "zoom" into the fine print, you'd realize that the envelope has Sakura's mailing address.)

_**Aitakute kakenuketa**  
I wanted to meet you and ran through_

A far out side shot of Sakura gliding along a canal on her skates. The sloped walls of the struture, and the orange shimmering sky at sunset can be seen. The card sorceress herself is dimmed by the bright light.

_**Hi no ataru kyuuna sakamichi ya  
**Sun-touched, sudden hills and_

We cut to a close up front shot of Syaoran driving his Toyota MR2 Spyder along the suspension bridge crossing the Edo Bay from Kansai Airport. The road flits by as the sun continues its slow descent to rest. Syaoran, like Sakura, is hard to make out as his vehicle's top was folded away in his trunk, leaving his face in the shadow of the light.

_**Kouen no sumi.  
**The corners of the park._

_**Futari no kage wa ima mo kawaranu mama...**  
The two of our shadows r__emain even now, forever unchanged…_

Sakura comes to a stop in front some pedestals and looks in. We immediate cut to her perspective, and we see that she had stopped by the Penguin Park. And when her gaze rested on the swing, she recalls her younger self sitting there being comforted by Syaoran after Yukito turned her down. The current Sakura looks down at her pink skating bracer, and we see Syaoran's immaculate, compartmented handing saying "I'll be back!" markered onto the plastic. How long it has been since then... A small puff of cherry blossom petals flit by her, making her look up, and head for the source.

CHORUS

_**Kimi to boku to sakurabiyori  
**You and I, and the cherry blossom weather_

Syaoran eases his sports car to a stop at his apartment car park, and gets off, changing a petal in his hair. He picks it out of his hair, looks at it, then an idea hits him. He quickly sprints out of screen.

_**Kaze ni yurete maiodoru**  
We dance, blown by the wind_

Sakura, led by the ever increasing flutter of petals, glides along the path, sometimes going straight, sometimes twirling in circles, dancing amongst the corolla of her namesake. That short cut takes her through the Tsukiyomi Shrine and when she crossed into its square Sakura spies something at the corner of her eye and spins out of her way to a stop.

_**Mada miru mirai o mune ni daite  
**Holding in my heart a future I can still see_

We cut to a panting Syaoran, his pressed shirt disheveled from the mad dash, resting his palm against the sacred Sakura tree at the Shrine's grounds. He feels someone watching looking at him and gets up.

_**Miageta saki wa momoiro no sora  
**__We gaze at the peach colored sky_

We watch on from Syaoran's perspective in a panning shot such that he, back facing us, is travelling to the right and Sakura and the background is moving to the left. The trickle of petals have grown into a storm now. Reality sinks in; Syaoran's worries of being late evaporates as he smiles. Sakura's eyes brim, and she darts forward.

CLOSING INSTRUMENTAL (It's far longer than the one in BLEACH. Enjoy the final scene!)

And so we end up at the final slowing zooming shot, drawn in CLAMP watercolour style and framed by cherry blossoms, of Sakura leaping into Syaoran's arms, with a few stray wisps of the pink petals fluttering by. It's as though they were celebrating the couple's reunion, and a remake of the last frame of the CCS comic.

There's a piece of cursive on the top left:

_Till death do us part…_

Author's Note

_(Flutters about on humming bird wings) _SCH-WEEEET! Kawaii! Oh my god especially when I saw the opening stanza I went "Syaoran Sakura forever…!" I HAD to make it an ending theme for a fic! At that point I was still working on my Angelic Layer project, where my OP/ED idea worked like a charm, and I had planned Sakura Hiyori to be for the "Daidouji Disaster" arc (Wonder what that is? You gotta wait, cos it's rather far ahead…). That's when my thoughts drifted to the long dead ER (of which I wrote myself into a corner) and decided, "Heck it, even Naruto's come back, so why not?" And so Sakura Hiyori got packed into the bumper issue of ER, and I flung my most researched work back onto the once more. Who says the opening/ending themes had to include images from the series? Let's just go for the perfect sugar rush! Haha...

Hope you've enjoyed it so far, and yes I'm officially out of that corner so progress would be back here. It'll be at my pace yes, but there'll definitely be movement.

I know the title should be read phonetically as 'Biyori', but since the hiragana on the song sheet says 'Hi' I'll leave it as such.

Thank you for reading! Remember to leave a review saying you were here! As for me, I'll see you next Rune!


	4. The 1st Rune: The Surprise

_Somewhere in Tokyo…_

"You really wish to go?"

"Yes."

"But why put yourself to all the trouble? The one you seek might not even exist."

"I know she's here! And I've got to find her. I need… answers to these displaced memories…"

"My dear boy, for the last time, I will stress that even if you find the answer, you will not like it…"

There was a long pause before a defeated sigh.

"Chi-sama has certainly spoiled you. Start at the shop house with a tiled roof near Penguin Park, Tomoeda. I know someone there who can help."

"Thank you, Father Springfield."

**The 1st Rune: The Surprise**

"Syaoran-kun..." Sakura stirred sleepily as morning rays tickled her auburn locks which tumbled haphazardly around her face. The sun worked no magic on the conked-out sorceress; her eyes remained shut and oblivious to even her closest guardian darting from his drawer. It was fast coming to 7AM and yet her soul was still somewhere else.

"Sakura-chan!" Kerberos screamed at the top of his voice once he got close to Sakura's face. "You better wake up now or you are going to be late!"

Sakura's eyelids fluttered a little then her brow furrowed as she struggled to rouse herself.

"Ah-no... Oh, hi Kero-chan," Sakura answered dreamily as she sat up rubbing her eyes, evoking a collapse from Kero.

"Don't you just 'hi Kero' me!" Kero answered furiously waving a fist while a small vein popped out of his forehead. "You just overslept again!"

Sakura was somewhat annoyed to have been dragged suddenly from dreamland, especially so when the last image was of herself when she was four years old decked out in outlandish robes standing on a balcony overlooking a strange pair of wing-like spires with a four-year-old Syaoran, dressed just as strangely, by her side(1). But she was not going to let it show. However, it made her want to sleep even more. Sakura reluctantly cracked an eyelid half open as she muttered "Huh? I did remember to set the alarm…" Her hand soon found the clock and pulled it up to her face.

The realization that Kero wasn't pulling her leg hit her like a drum.

"HOE!"

Touya and Fujitaka heard her leap out of her bed from the dining table downstairs. Sakura's elder brother still had his pinky to his ear, clearing out the ringing caused by his sister's initial outburst. Fujitaka just smiled and went back to his paper.

"Not again," grumbled Touya as he turned his attention back to the omelet sizzling away in the pan. It was Sakura's turn to do breakfast that morning, but once again the zee-monster got the better of her, like how Touya's stomach got the better of him. "It seems that her sense of responsibility has gone out the window nowadays."

"She's dreaming a lot more these days, too," was Fujitaka's reply from behind the headlines. A crash of a drawer being pulled out too quickly and hitting the floor followed soon after. "Wouldn't you oblige your sister this little luxury? I think it's the stress from her exams coming up that's causing it all."

"Oto-san, Sakura-chan finished her exams two weeks ago!" Touya protested as he gave the egg a good flip. The noise from above had turned into a continuous ruffling and shuffling.

Fujitaka shrugged.

Another crash followed by a flurry of footfalls thumping down the stairs announced Sakura's arrival.

"Good morning, Oka-san!" Sakura cried in exasperation as she passed her mother's photograph on the way to the dining room. Even though she was going at a hundred miles an hour she still managed to see that her father had changed the photograph again; this morning Nadesiko was dressed in a flowing and frilly white gown with her lush grey hair billowing out in the rich ocean wind, along with her eternal smile right where it should be. The girl skidded into her seat.

"I'm so sorry! I had another dream this morning!"

"It's okay, Sakura," the oldest Kinomoto smiled as he put down his paper. "Did you sleep well?"

"Mm! But that's why I overslept…" Sakura said sheepishly.

Touya had made his way to Sakura's seat and slid the folded omelet into her plate as the flabbergasted girl sat down. "I hope you're not just finding an excuse to skip chores, ganjiu."

"Or course not!" Sakura retorted as she picked up her fork and proceeded to clear her plate in record time, cramming down the omelet together with jelly toast and flushed everything with the glass of orange juice.

"I know ganjius can't choke—," Sakura stared daggers at Touya as she got up, cheeks bloated with food, while the boy headed back into the kitchen, "—but do watch out, 'cause if you dislocate your jaw you'll make a mess on the floor that _I_ put in a lot of effort to clean."

Sakura was down the hallway by the time she swallowed the entire chum. "I'll be fine, Oni-chan! I'm going out!"

"You take care now! Watch out for traffic!" Fujitaka called out, shaking his head with a small smile on his face.

"I will, Oto-san!" Sakura snatched her book bag off a shelf by the foyer, stepped smoothly into her right shoe and hopped out of the house tugging on the other.

"Bye!"

"Oi! Sakura!" Touya yelled as the front door slammed in his face. He had in his hands a small box wrapped by a pink handkerchief held in place by a small bow knot. "That ganjiu left her lunch behind again."

The "ganjiu", however, was going too fast to even think of her surroundings, let alone think about lunch. Sakura almost slipped on a loose stone, and then barely managed to slide in between two stiles before turning into the next crossroad and taking off. It was a pretty bad performance, considering the fact that she had been doing mad dashes like this rather often in recent memory.

"I'm late! I'm late!" She skidded round another bend and this time ran straight into someone who was just about to take the turn as well. The recoil knocked the book bag out of her grasp and caused her to reel backwards, but Sakura felt a pair of strong arms grasp her sides and stop her tumble.

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?" came a familiar sounding voice.

"Hoe…" Sakura groaned as she got her balance back. "I'm really sorry for that! I didn't mean—"

She froze and her eyes went wide, her heart ramping up a couple of revs.

She blinked.

And blinked again.

No, this was not a dream. But she just couldn't bring herself to believe her eyes.

Because of their proximity after the collision, Syaoran's warm gaze had filled up all of Sakura's vision. That was more than enough to stun her silly.

"No." The doushi shook his head. "But I think you gave me a bigger fright than I expected to give you."

"…S-Syaoran-kun…?" Sakura stammered, unconsciously clasping her hands close to her chest. She was trembling terribly in her shoes. "How…?"

"I wanted to give you a surprise, Sakura-chan, so I didn't tell you in advance…"

The boy let his arms fall to his side. His smile was absolutely mesmerizing. "And you know what? I've cleared up all my important unfinished business back home. I'll be staying in Tomoeda full-time!"

"You mean… No more having just phone calls and letters…?" Tiny wells of tears were forming in Sakura's eyes. Her voice was fast giving way too.

Syaoran replied with a sharp nod. "Mm! From now on, we can always be together!"

"Oh, Syaoran-kun!" Sakura could no longer control herself and darted forward, leaving a trail of tears in the air as she threw her arms around Syaoran's neck and pressed her flushed cheeks into his shoulder. She was weeping hysterically, chanting her beloved's name over and over. Lee let his head lean on Sakura's and returned the hug, gently running his fingers through Sakura's matted locks. The boy too felt the urge to break down as well, and he struggled to not croak.

"I'm… so happy to see you again… Sakura…"

"Oi! Sakura! Wait up!" Touya's voice floated from the other side of the turn.

"Ah? Wha— Ow!" In an instant both sides instinctively tried to pull away from each other but limbs caught one another, and, to their dismay, Syaoran and Sakura fell to the ground in a hopelessly entangled pile.

And this was what Touya saw when he rode round the bend: Book bags strewn all over, Sakura in a rather compromising position and Syaoran on top of her! Little wonder that the older Kinomoto then crashed into the opposite wall, fell off his bike and ended up head first in a pile of garbage. Sakura's lunch bounced out of the basket and spilled onto the pavement.

"YOU CHINESE GAKI! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO TO MY SISTER!" Touya wore a murderous look on his face, his hair looked like it was on fire as he roared, thrashed and swam out of the junk. Fortunately, Syaoran and Sakura were faster; they had disentangled themselves, grabbed all their fallen belongings and made themselves scarce in the time Touya took to get to his feet and throw a scrunched-up can at the fleeing couple. Syaoran dodged the projectile and kept going.

"STOP! FREEZE! WAIT TILL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU…!"

Touya gacked as another hand held him back by his collar. "Come on, Touya-kun. Let them go."

"Let me go, Yukito!" Touya screamed as he tugged against the silver-haired man's grip. "Did you see what happened! That gaki jumped my sister and tried to rape her!"

"Indeed? That's not the Syaoran-kun I know…" Yukito laughed. "I'm sure you've gotten it all wrong…"

Touya gave up struggling as Syaoran and Sakura disappeared after making a turn out of the avenue. "Great! They got away."

He glanced at the upturned lunch carpeting the ground and balled up his fists. "And he wrecked Sakura's lunch as well! I _so_ wanna tear the skin of that sly pervert…"

"Now now, Touya, it is partly your fault that the accident occurred," Yukito let go of Touya while waving a finger in the air. "Anyway, what you wanna do now is to get out of these filthy clothes and have a nice long bath."

Yukito leaned over and took a sniff at the fuming Touya's shoulder. "Wow you really smell."

That did the trick. The grimy boy let out a breath and smirked in return. "Alright you win. I'll let them off just this once. Your place?"

"Bubbling and warm," Yukito replied grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"But I don't have any spare clothes…"

"Ah, we'll worry about clothes later!" Yukito declared as he stepped forward to heft Touya's bike upright. However, he soon paused and turned around, staring into the distance. Touya at first didn't get what bothered the silver-haired avatar, but he soon caught sight of it: a brilliant blue spark, getting bigger every second, was drifting down the lane they were on. It maintained a constant altitude and completely ignored the two men's existence as the strange light floated right by them.

"A… Firefly?" Touya breathed in surprise. "In the day?"

Both men's gaze followed the spark as it cruised into the distance, then made the same turn that Syaoran and Sakura had taken earlier and went out of sight.

Touya jacked up an eyelid, having no idea what to make of it, but Yukito frowned.

TO BE CONTINUED…

**Author's Note**

(1) The winged-like spires were my "briefest" attempt to refer to the ruins found in Clow World from the series Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. The dream I briefly mentioned is based on a memory that the Sakura in TRC saw when she acquired one of her feathers in the first season.

Sorry for taking so long to post the 1st chapter after doing the prologue. I've had one hell of a week at work but at least I'm given off this week so managed to bang out this one and will be posting the next few faster. Hopefully the next 2 Runes would be up by the end of the week. To answer those who think that the tousle on Syaoran's sword could not have been able to be a rappel as described in the prologue, I would like to say that that's inspired an observation I made that in certain poses the string seems so long, yet when Syaoran is engaged in battle it seems to have shrunk. I wanted a simple yet queer answer to that situation when both sides had exhausted their powers and yet Sakura was clearly not going to make it (this was the point of another debate between my pals and me, but after analyzing the last scene of _The Sealed Card_ we concluded that Sakura really wasn't going to clear the jump) and this came to mind. Even so, thanks to those who pointed it out to me! I'll do better in future:) As usual, constructive feedback is ALWAYS welcome and greatly appreciated.

And special thanks to my beta, **Firnoviel**,for a job well done! Thank you!


	5. The 2nd Rune: The Quake

Warning

"All rights to images, sounds and packages contained in this production are owned by Daidouji Corporation and I, Daidouji Tomoyo and only viewings in private homes are allowed. Any other usages, copying, changes, display, broadcast whole of or part of would mean discourtesy to me as well as my Sakura-chan and will be punished by us not speaking to you anymore."

From **Daidouji Tomoyo**, taken from _Tomoyo's Video Diaries_ and shoved down Kha's throat once she decided to hire him as scriptwright.

**The 2nd Rune: The Quake**

Syaoran and Sakura burst around the corner of Main Street and smacked themselves back first onto the stone perimeter of Tomoeda High School, giggling and panting like lunatics fresh out of a padded cell. Their minds were too full of that narrow escape from Touya in hyper mode to bother about the curious looks passers-bys were giving them.

"I think we lost him," Syaoran wheezed, resting his head against the wall.

"Haha… He won't follow us this far…" giggled Sakura as she took a quick glance around the turn.

Syaoran felt his arm being pulled away and instinctively looked down; the doushi instantaneously turned red in the face. He had been operating purely on reflexes up till that point and was mortified to find that somehow his hand had subconsciously found Sakura's while they were running away! The boy quickly let go just as Sakura turned around.

"What is it?" Sakura asked innocently. She had realized that Syaoran was holding her hand long before reaching school, and was rather shocked at first, but she soon got used to the warm and tingly feeling in her palm. She thought Syaoran was being bothered by something and hence suddenly released her hand.

"No… Nothing much…" Syaoran stammered sheepishly while hiding his free hand behind his back, believing that Sakura hadn't noticed his doing. "I think it's about time we got to school…"

"Mm!" Sakura skipped to Syaoran's side as he led the way still wearing some pink on his cheeks. "Let's!"

------

Chiharu was the first to notice Sakura entering the school gate. For a second she couldn't recognize the dashing young fellow she was with.

"Ne, minna, check out Sakura-chan over there! And look at that! She's got that hot guy with her!" the young Mihara motioned to her other friends as they came running over. "And is it just me, or do you girls also find him kind of familiar?"

Naoko adjusted her round frameless spectacles and looked closer. "Hmm… You're right he does look familiar. But I don't remember seeing him around all semester…"

"Where's that camera!" Tomoyo cried as she rummaged through her bag for her camcorder. She didn't recognize Syaoran at that point and that made her even more determined to find her second-most-trusted companion. Tomoyo had to report to Meiling every now and then about Sakura and whether she was seeing anyone else. The two girls had tried, and failed, countless times to get Syaoran to take a break from his work and go visit Sakura like he did back when they were 12. He would always have a good excuse to stay; be it that there would an important audience with a big-wig from another clan, or he was about to master some new sword technique or spirit incantation _(Whatever that meant, Tomoyo had thought.)_ and if he stopped he'd forget and would have to start over. But he would always assure them that he would keep his promise and that all he was doing was for Sakura. Now if they had footage of someone trying to get close to Sakura she was pretty sure Syaoran would drop everything and maybe even teleport to Tokyo, if he could.

Rika tilted her head to the side while she ran over all the mental images of the males she had seen in school. "But wouldn't that be kind of strange if Sakura-chan was dating someone other than…"

Realization hit all of the girls at the same time. Tomoyo almost dropped her camera as a result.

"SYAORAN!"

Only Sakura could have instantly recognized the present day Syaoran. Gone were his slight slouch and negative aura from before, this Syaoran stood tall and upright, highlighting his broad shoulders and basically oozed confidence from every pore. His amber eyes now had a slight twinkle in them and seemed a lot softer than the girls remembered. And his arms! Naoko, Chiharu, Rika and even Tomoyo were almost drooling over how well-toned and muscular they had become. Only his brown hair stayed windswept and unruly.

"Girls!" scolded Tomoyo as she snapped out of her trance and kicked herself mentally in the back for mistaking Syaoran for someone else. "Let's stop gawking and welcome him— no, them!"

------

"Sakura-chan! Lee-kun!"

The couple stopped their conversation as Sakura's old friends rushed to join them. But happiness at meeting the girls soon turned to uneasiness as Syaoran and Sakura noticed that Tomoyo had already trained her omnipresent recorder on them.

"Hey Lee-kun! How have you been?" Rika asked. She had reached them first.

"Fine, thank you." Syaoran decided to switch to his diplomatic side and flashed a stunning smile along with his reply. It was the one that Meiling had made him practice putting on every morning, and especially before he went out with his mother to handle inter-clan negotiations.

The rest of the girls arrived and promptly swamped the pair. Tomoyo flit about behind the human jam trying to get a better view. Sweat drops appeared by Sakura's and Syaoran's heads, both at a loss for what to do. Chiharu then turned to Syaoran, looking rather cross.

"Lee-kun! How come you've only come to visit us only now?"

"I was busy…" That outburst caught Syaoran by surprise and he could only manage a meek reply.

"Too busy for our dear Sakura? Did you know just how much she missed you? You certainly got nerve!" Chiharu replied in mock anger. She was leaning forward and had a hand to her waist while the other prodded Syaoran's shoulder. His sweat drop getting bigger every second.

"Ne, Chiharu-chan, Syaoran-kun really was busy…" Sakura tugged at her friend's sleeve.

"And you too, Sakura-chan!" Chiharu suddenly swung round evoking short "hoe!" from Sakura. "You're bringing your boyfriend to school today and you didn't even breathe a word to us about it!"

"…Boyfriend…?" Sakura turned beet in the face and found the floor rather interesting.

"Chiharu! Don't be selfish!" Naoko squeezed in. "What did you do when you met this morning? What were your first words to Syaoran?"

"Hoe…? We… Um…"

"Ne, minna… I thought this was a welcoming party…" Rika tapped on Naoko's shoulder.

"Erm… Sorry but I think Sakura-chan has had enough shocks for today…" Syaoran tried to step in. It was a bad move though, as the boisterous group then swamped him.

Chiharu let fly the first salvo. "Right it is! What have you been doing in Hong Kong? I mean look at you! If I were Sakura I would've had you for breakfast!"

"I've been practicing wushu…" Syaoran said. He had two sweatdrops by his forehead now. The unexpected chattiness of the girls floored him.

Naoko followed suit. "Not bad! Is it a kind of oriental martial arts?"

"Er… Yes…"

"Minna-san... We're going to be late…" Sakura started to speak when she felt a weak pulse of ki surging through the air. Instinctively she turned to face in the general direction of the source, scanning the school block as she did. Syaoran was still fighting for his life, so Sakura couldn't tell if he felt the pulse as well. It was then when she noticed a girl dressed in a maroon frock with long blue hair beckoning to her from the lockers where Tomoyo and the others had come from. She could not really put a finger on it, but she found the aura reminded her of something...

"…Is it just me, or has Syaoran-kun become very fluent at talking now?" Tomoyo mused, her camera still locked tight on her targets.

"I-I have been helping out with the family business so I've had lots of practice…"

Sakura jumped when Naoko and Chiharu shrieked in unison, causing her to swing around.

"Oh my goodness!" Naoko went first this time. "How much do you take make a month then?"

"Eh…" Syaoran knew the answer very well, but it always embarrassed him to talk about those big numbers.

The school clock tower started chiming in a soothing melody that signified the start of the academic day. It had the unintended effect of silencing the group for a while though. Tomoyo also stopped filming at that point. Syaoran and Sakura let out a sigh of relief.

"I've had enough footage for the intro of that _Sakura-chan Memorial Special_I've in mind!" Tomoyo declared as she lowered her camera and started pushing the whole group to class. "And it'll all be about Syaoran-kun and Sakura-chan!"

Fresh sweat drops appeared on the ruffled couple again.

"EH? Tomoyo-chan! Didn't we agree that it would be about us as well?" Naoko complained.

"That's because we didn't count on Syaoran-kun appearing! Besides Sakura-chan looks so much cuter with Syaoran-kun around…"

Sakura found that the group was no longer focusing their attention on her and stole a glance back to the shoe racks where she had seen that strange girl. Somehow, it didn't surprise that the person in question was no longer there. But since she couldn't sense any more ki pulses, plus Syaoran did not seem to have noticed a thing, she thought nothing more of it and rejoined her friends' conversations.

_Meanwhile, by the lockers…_

"Oh you are so slow! I've been looking for you for quite a while now you know!" A long haired brunette pouted.

A bespectacled and freckled boy clutching a messy pile of papers hurried up. "Then don't be so fast, Miyuki-chan(1)! I still got all this flyers to give out…"

"Oh you'll be the death of me, Tashiro-kun…"

Their voices trailed off as the students walked away, leaving the lockers empty. A brilliant blue spark floated down from the ceiling and, once making sure that no one was about, summoned several hundred of its counterparts which promptly gathered and melded into that blue haired spirit Sakura saw earlier. She had a look of worry on her flawless features while she glanced to the now empty central plaza. She turned to face the stairwell Sakura was climbing at the moment and, once she had verified Sakura's aura, ran down the circumference of the plaza in the direction of the stairs.

------

The class door slid open and Tomoyo, Chiharu and Naoko promptly burst in. Rika came next, and then followed by Syaoran and Sakura. Instantly, the warm atmosphere enveloped them. Friends were gathered in groups, chatting loudly and giggling away. Some choose to read novels quietly on their own, and a group of guys had bunched at the last row of tables behind a laptop immersed in a recently released game. You could tell that it was the last day of school just by breathing in the sights and sounds. Sakura glanced at Syaoran who at the same time met gazes with her. He smiled, and she understood. They were both happy to be there as much as the rest of the class.

"Oi! Sakura-chan! Lee-kun! Come here first! You can stare at each other all you want after that!"

That last statement turned them both beet red, as well as invited some chuckles from the girls at the front row. Naoko, Rika, Chiharu and Tomoyo were waving at them from their corner of the class. Syaoran and Sakura made their move, but not without any more unwanted attention. When Syaoran passed the group of girls who laughed at them, he couldn't help but catch a bit of their conversation:

"Hey check him out! He looks like he came out of a movie or something."

"Yeah he's really hot!"

"Oh why didn't he join our class when school began, instead of at the end?"

A sweat drop appeared by Syaoran's head. It had been the case every time he'd enter another clan's hall as well; he could never get used to the attention and the oohs and aahs that came with it. Sometimes Syaoran wished he wasn't so irresistible. That thought however gave him pause. _Maybe, just irresistible enough for Sakura…_

Sakura stopping in her tracks got him out of his train of thought.

"Um, Tomoyo-chan?" She said to her friend who was currently seated behind Sakura's original seat. "Didn't you sit here this semester?"

Sakura pointed to the empty seat that was left of her own.

"Oh I'm very comfortable here. I suppose _someone_ needs it more than I do." Tomoyo rolled her eyes in Syaoran's direction when she said 'someone'.

Sakura turned to face Syaoran, trying to resist the reflex to squeal. The boy held a finger to himself when he realized that their attention were on him.

"M-Me?" Syaoran looked around. "I don't need that particular seat at all. I mean, not that I mind, its just… erm… if you mind, then I can always…"

Tomoyo cut him off and added with a sly smile, "We insist."

Syaoran looked at the pink Sakura who nodded rapidly. "I-It's ok. Really. Just, um, take the seat!"

Sakura plopped herself down on her own spot and busied herself in transferring her notebook and stationery into the recess under her desk top. She was grateful for the table top to be covering her face; Sakura was smiling to herself like she had struck the lottery and was too embarrassed to let Syaoran see her like this. Syaoran held on to his "okay-no-biggie" face as he sat; inside he felt like prancing about like a school girl. _Calm Xiao Lang,_ the boy thought as he drew a couple of deep breaths and brought his mind back to business. He glanced back; Chiharu and Tomoyo took the two seats directly behind Syaoran and Sakura. Rika sat behind Chiharu and Naoko was behind Tomoyo. Syaoran noted that the seat on Chiharu's right was empty save a bag dropped into a chair. He felt that it belonged to his old pal Yamazaki Takashi, who was currently at the other side of the room in a group of guys engaged in a rather animated debate. The din of the class drowned out his lecture— If Syaoran wanted to eavesdrop his sense enhancing skills would suffice; its just that he felt Yamazaki's topic was not of high importance. Once he was sure the four girls behind weren't taking notice he turned to face Sakura.

"Sakura?"

"Mm?" Sakura closed her table top. She inwardly prayed that her loony smile had disappeared.

"Did you sense anything strange just now?"

Sakura's eye brows went up. "You sensed it too?"

Syaoran nodded in reply. "It was a spirit. Don't worry; I sense that she's benevolent. She was a blue haired one in a modern maroon frock though... I never expected to see a spirit that looks like that in Japan."

"A spirit...?" That word conjured up an image of an umbrella with one eye and one leg as well as a long tongue that stuck out. Sakura shuddered. _I wouldn't expect one to look like that too._ She let her mind replay the sighting again. "Syaoran-kun, do you know what kind of spirit she was?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure what term you have for this kind of spirit in Japanese, but in Hong Kong we call it a _Zhuo Jia Tong_(2), a spirit that encourages a good home and family." Syaoran said after some thought. "Why would one be looking for you?"

"Hoe..."—Syaoran's hair stood when Sakura let her trademark squeal out; _She's so cute when she says that… Oi! Xiao Lang! Focus! _— "I never heard of a spirit like that before… But at the same I've this feeling that I've met her before…"

"She's probably been to your home before, then," Syaoran said with a smiling twinkle in his eyes. "That's a good sign."

Sakura could not help getting mesmerized. _Oh Syaoran-kun looks so cool when he does that…_

"Sakura?" Syaoran noted that the girl was spacing out.

"Hoe? N-no! Nothing! Haha…" Sakura snapped back to reality.

"Oi! Lee-kun! Come over here for a while, will ya?" Yamazaki gestured to Syaoran.

"We'll investigate this later." Syaoran said in a whisper as he got up. He couldn't help noticing some movement from Tomoyo but when he turned back for a brief moment to look at Daidouji-sama, she gave him an innocent smile and waved him on. Not suspecting anything, Syaoran headed in Takashi's direction.

_Boy he's a lot sharper now, _Tomoyo smiled to herself, glittering stars appearing by her head, as she shifted the camera that she hastily shoved into her lap when Syaoran got up. _But I still got more footage! Yay! Sakura-chan! You're so going to be a star!_

------

"How have you been, Lee-kun?" Yamazaki patted Syaoran on the shoulder.

Syaoran returned the pat. "You're not too bad yourself."

"You bet!" Yamazaki said, sticking his "I-know-it-all" finger into the air. He then turned to the group. "Guys meet my old pal Syaoran. Syaoran, this is…"

The gears in Syaoran's mind started spinning. He knew the drill alright; stick a hand out, shake, say hi while smiling, retract hand. He could almost hear Meiling in the background "Xiao Lang! Not so stiff! Relax!" _She's still haunting me from so far away… _Syaoran dripped a sweat drop from that thought.

"You know something, Lee-kun?" Yamazaki said once he was done with the introductions. "You've changed a lot from four years ago. I don't remember you being half as smiley or as unguarded as you are now."

"Thanks." Syaoran replied matter-of-factly. _I guess all that practice sort of sunk in deeper than I thought. _"What was it that you wanted to speak to me about?"

"Its not me actually," Yamazaki pointed to a bowl-haired red head Syaoran remembered to be Renji. "He did."

"What is it?"

"Let me go straight to the point."Renji stood up and crossed his arms before adding bluntly. "Are you Sakura-chan's boyfriend?"

"So?"

Renji was looking at Syaoran from the top of his nose. "I see..."

The boy took a long pause that made Syaoran tense further. He was expecting a challenge of some sort from this friend of Yamazaki...

"Have you guys kissed?"

The question, so suddenly delivered with a devil's grin, invoked a collapsed from Syaoran.

The group burst out laughing as the red-faced Syaoran got back on his feet.

"Hey chill pal," another guy, Ichigo, slapped Syaoran on the back. "Don't mind him. Renji's always like this, trying to catch people by surprise."

"Hmmph." _I hate being surprised..._

"But really, have you?" This time it was Keigo speaking. "We heard from Yamazaki-kun that you and Sakura-chan have been together since 4th grade! We're guessing that you kissed her in 6th grade."

"N-no!" Syaoran caught himself before he said _"Almost"_. "W-What about Yamazaki-kun? He's been with Chiharu ever since I met him!"

"Ah-ha! Why of course I have! Many times!" Yamazaki gleamed. His legendary finger was up in the air again. "In fact, our most recent one had tongue..."

Syaoran's eyes shrunk to the size of pearls while the guys dripped sweat. "N-no kidding..."

"WAIT! It's all lies! Lies!" A red-faced Chiharu flew from her end of the class into the group, dragged Yamazaki-kun aside and proceeded to throttle him hard. "Stop talking nonsense! Tongue indeed! We never even kissed before!"

The guys went pale.

"Chiharu-san... is so strong..." Renji breathed, his eyelashes twitching in shock.

Syaoran had gottened used to this occuring though. And even with Takashi's head bobbing back and forth Syaoran could tell that Yamazaki was having the time of his life.

_I'm glad for you pal..._

A massive pulse of negative ki washed over the boy.

"Dammit!" Syaoran spun round and looked out the window. It was so prominent that Sakura sensed it as well and both cardcaptors narrowed the source down to a point in the horizon. Syaoran flinched. Another wave was headed straight for them!

"EVERYONE GET DOWN!" Syaoran roared just moments before the ground began heaving. The initial impact swept Renji off his feet. Syaoran resisted the shock. Yamazaki had already embraced Chiharu and held their balance. In an instant the various groups scattered amongst cries of "Earthquake! Earthquake!" as the students ducked under their desks. Lights flickered and fans began failing one by one as they swung about the bolts that held them to the ceiling. There was a loud crash from somewhere else in the building; books were being thrown off their shelves; the glass panes of the room rattled against their reinforced bindings. Renji slithered on his belly to his chosen spot. Syaoran could not see Sakura anymore; she had already taken cover. Yamazaki and Chiharu weren't so lucky; the desks around them were all occupied.

"Yamazaki! The teacher's desk!" Syaoran hollered over the loud rumbling as he tee-tottered back to his desk. Dust was tumbling free from fixtures everywhere.

"Go!" Yamazaki huddled Chiharu along, using the students desk as supports. Syaoran watched on in bated breath as they hurried along the whiteboard. But it just was not their day, for just as they reached the table, a flourescent tube shook free from the swinging lights directly above and came down in a sizzling shower of sparks.

Syaoran cursed under his breath as he uttered a chant while shooting his hand forward. Yamazaki worked just as fast; he shoved Chiharu under the desk while he blocked the opening with his body. Syaoran's spell hit, and the tube quivered in its descent, showing only a hint of slowing while its sparks faded away.

_Not enough!_ Syaoran thought as he tightened his muscles more. This time it was too much. The tube suddenly veered off to the side and smashed into the whiteboard with a loud pop, spraying Yamazaki with glowing shards.

Syaoran cringed at his mistake as he saw Takashi shiver in pain. He had intended to slow the tube's fall with his ki; but in his anxiety he overcompensated for the tube's weight. Yamazaki's head disappeared under the desk, probably been dragged down by Chiharu. It reminded the doushi to do the same.

"Syaoran!" Sakura cried out once the boy took cover. "What happened? Are you alright?"

"I... missed..." That and Syaoran's horrified expression was his reply. Sakura could only look on dead worried.

The heaving of the building continued for a while more before the rumbling gradually died away, leaving a low roll over the land like a storm that had just passed over. The students remained under their tables as they had been instructed to during an earthquake. But Syaoran was never taught this; they did not have tremors in Hong Kong after all. Still, even if he was taught it would not have changed his course of action. He darted out for the teacher's table.

"Ne! Syaoran-kun!" Sakura had reached out to stop him but the boy was much quicker and dodged her. Her concern for him overrode all caution and she went after him.

"Don't worry Chiharu-san it's just a small cut..." Yamazaki said while trying to calm a hysterical Chiharu when Syaoran and Sakura dropped by.

But the truth was that he _was _rather banged up. His hair and uniform glinted at spots where the shards had become stuck. Glass had drawn a few scattered red lines on his hands and face. And top it off the boy had flowing trail that came from the top of his head, passed over his left eye slit and was dripping onto the floor; it almost got Sakura screaming. Chiharu sobbed uncontrollably as she dabbed Takashi's wounds with her handkerchief; she could not do anything significant lest she disturbed the embedded shrapnel and made matters worse.

"Hang on I'll go get help." Syaoran made for the door and slid it open, startling someone on the other side. Sakura looked up; there was the blue haired girl they were talking about standing uneasily in the passageway!

"You!" Syaoran barked on reflex.

The scared Vestal spirit split before Syaoran could react.

"Oi! Wait!" Syaoran dug deep into the ground and sprang after her, Sakura following closely behind. The spirit was a good five meters ahead of them when she took a sharp left at the first T-junction they arrived at, their cries for the spirit to stop continuing to fall on deaf ears. By now Syaoran and Sakura had left the classroom block and were running along a line of sound-proofed rooms usually used for music practice. Syaoran saw that they were headed for a dead end, save the flight of stairs at the end of the corridor.

"Sakura-chan!" Syaoran shouted as he looked back over his shoulder."Once she reaches the parapet she might try jumping off the school block. Get your wand ready, 'cos if she's going to fly at least you can go after her!"

"Okay!" Sakura puffed. Her hand travelled to her pocket and then she remembered."Oh no! My cards! They're in my pack..."

"What? How could you leave them behind!" Syaoran hissed as he returned his focus back to the fleeing spirit. _Guess I'll have to use this. _

He raised his right arm straight off to the right and chanted "Fei Ba! Xue Lan-- Huh?"

The spirit suddenly made a right turn and disappeared through a closed door like a ghost through a wall, cutting Syaoran's incantation off. The boy jogged to a halt and scanned the door. No curses or enchantments, just a pulsing aura that read fear and panic. He touched the knob. It moved a little; it was not locked. Syaoran glanced up at Sakura as she came running up panting hard.But as she was about to speak Syaoran held a finger to his lips then motioned to her to stand back. Sakura shifted herself till she was leaning on the rails of the corridor. She saw the doushi's hand go into his pocket and draw out his bead locket, the sealed form of his channeling blade. But he did not summon it immediately; he counted mentally to three firstbefore swinging the door in with force while his blade took shape in his other hand. A loud shriek came out of the room.

"P-please don't hurt me! That earthquake wasn't my fault!"

Sakura crept through the doorway as Syaoran continued, "I know that quakes aren't in your portfolio. But you know its source."

Syaoran held his blade aloft and pointed at the Vestal spirit which was cowering in the far corner; the spirit's eyes transfixed on Syaoran's sword. She haltingly shifted her terror-filled gaze from Syaoran to Sakura who was peering over the boy's shoulder.

"I-I have a m-message for Sa-sakura."

TO BE CONTINUED...

**Author's Note**

(1) Yes that was Miyuki-chan from the little known CLAMP manga "Miyuki-chan in Wonderland". She's been making quite a few rounds recently, with reports of sightings of her in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle as well as X/1999. Since she always wanted to lead an ordinary life, I'm giving her one. :) That guy Tashiro is some random extra I dreamed up, I think. Somehow I feel like I've heard of him somewhere too...

(2) The Japanese term is Zashiki Warashi; translated into English as a Vestal spirit. The VS (pardon the pun) who appears here is the one who gave Watanuki from the CLAMP manga "xxxHOLiC" the Ogenchu taken from Doumeki's stomach. Why is she here? The answer is in the next Rune!

There's a cameo of some sorts by characters from another non-CLAMP anime. Can you guess where they're from:)

In the characterization of Sakura and Syaoran, I faced a little dilemma: in TRC, which is in effect a sequel to CCS albeit from a different angle, Sakura and Syaoran hardly had any blushing incidences that made them so lovable before. I know the reasons as to why they don't but it still disappoints me. That gives me a headache cos I dunno whether to follow official doctrine or my own guts at the risk of going off-tangent. In the end I settled for some middle ground: as you can see Syaoran and Sakura still turn red often, but only when others' attentions are trained on them. They would blush a little when its just the two of them, but it'll get less and less often as they get more used to each other. After all, can you imagine them still acting like that when they're married? Lol.

We also get to see Syaoran casting spells and doing things we have never seen him do before. It is the product of the years he spent training in Hong Kong before his return. His Ofuda spells have been powered up and he has new ways to apply them, plus he has a more refined sword technique, new abilities and a guardian spirit Xue Lang, the wolf ghost that he summons to aid him. There's also a story as to how he got him, but that'll be for later. I made him stronger as I believed that Syaoran, being driven by his humbling experience of how he couldn't really protect Sakura back in the Void card saga, would've trained himself silly to bring himself up to measure. More would be revealed in future chapters so I hope there'll be something worth the time of Syaoran fans as well.

Wow this has been a long A/N and an even longer chapter! Special thanks to my beta **firnoviel** and all those who've R&R! Keep posting and tell me what you think ppl! I'll see you at the next Rune! Ja!


	6. The 3rd Rune: The Plea

Warning

"All rights to images, sounds and packages contained in this production are owned by Daidouji Corporation and I, Daidouji Tomoyo and only viewings in private homes are allowed. Any other usages, copying, changes, display, broadcast whole of or part of would mean discourtesy to me as well as my Sakura-chan and will be punished by us not speaking to you anymore."

-**Daidouji Tomoyo**, taken from _Tomoyo's Video Diaries, _who must've bought heavily into CLAMP shares to have been able to say that.

------

**The 3rd Rune: The Plea**

"I-I have a m-message for Sa-sakura-sama."

"Me?" Sakura piped up suddenly, and because she was tiptoeing to look over Syaoran's shoulder she startled the doushi, almost causing him to drop his blade. He was too focused on scanning the room for other influences to notice Sakura's proximity.

"Gomen, Syaoran-kun," Sakura smiled meekly, a small sweat drop appearing on her forehead. "By the way, could you not point your sword at her like that?"

"Mm?" Syaoran glanced back at his hand. Then, remembering that the Zashiki Warashi was benevolent, the boy hastily issued a mental command to reseal his blade. "Force of habit..."

"No problem!" Sakura said before she padded closer to the huddled figure in the corner. Zashiki looked up and, upon seeing Sakura, relaxed for a moment but when she glanced over Sakura's shoulder she curled herself back into a ball again. The sorceress looked back; Syaoran, after seeing the spirit warming up to them, had taken a step forward and froze once Zashiki cowered like a cornered stray. He was definitely bewildered. Syaoran took another step and stopped; Zashiki whimpered.

"Syaoran-kun... I don't know what's going on... But maybe you should stay out of the classroom?" Sakura offered rather apologetically.

Syaoran frowned at the strange request and felt obliged to not comply. Something definitely was out of the ordinary when one has an in-the-flesh visitation by a supernatural and he just was not about to let his guard down completely. The boy listened --if you could call passively sensing ki fluxes "listening"-- to the empty classroom and a few yards beyond. He found nothing of importance among the dull drone of energies that would be best described as "background noise". That did not surprise him however; if there was something to be hidden it would most likely be keeping a low profile or avoiding anything that draws on mana, thus not creating stray ripples of energy in the natural ki flows that other magic users can pick up. There was a way around such stealth; by sending out a mana pulse of his own, a magic user can then listen for reflections of his action that bounced off other mana sources, be it an enchantment, a summons, or another magic user in hiding. Of course that would give his position away, but at that moment Syaoran guessed that if there was a trap it would have already been informed of his whereabouts. So he opted for the former and squeezed a little ki out of his mind. The doushi felt it radiate outwards; he sensed Sakura bristling as his wave passed over her; Zashiki came next. Syaoran almost expected another returning ping, but none came even when the pulse had long left the constraints of the room. He frowned. If everything was just as it seemed, what was the spirit afraid of?

"Syaoran-kun? What was that?"

"Nothing much," the boy replied with a shake of his head. _Maybe she just wants to talk in private..._

"Probably some private girl topic," Syaoran reasoned aloud in his own blunt way without thinking of the implications. Fortunately for him, neither did Sakura. His eyes circled the room again, and then he slowly turned to face the doorway. "Please be careful."

"I can manage," Sakura chimed as he stepped out. Syaoran crossed his legs as he sat down, letting his back rest against the outer wall as he strained to hear what went on inside. He shouted into the room, "I'll be right here if you need me."

"Okay!"

Sakura turned back to the seated spirit. Zashiki had unfurled herself once the doushi left the room but she still wore a worried look on her face. She was not shivering as much now. Sakura squatted down and placed her hand on Zashiki's shoulder in an attempt to calm her.

"Its okay, Syaoran wasn't going to hurt you..."

"But Sakura-sama," Zashiki looked up into Sakura's eyes. "They always tell me that magical people like Syaoran-sama bend spirits to their will to do their bidding..."

Syaoran sat up when he heard his name. Of course he had no recollection of doing anything of that sort.

Sakura thought little of that comment and smiled. "I'm magical too, and I don't bully spirits." _I just get scared by them. _She thought in addition, sweat-dropping a little.

"No Sakura-sama! Sakura-sama's magic is special! It's Syaoran-sama's kind of magical people..." Zashiki trailed off and shuddered as she recollected the torrid tales she heard many a time by the marsh-fires where other wandering spirits would gather when they made a stop at her mountain.

Syaoran balked silently at the comment. _Oi you're getting it all wrong..._

"I know Syaoran-kun and I'm sure he's not like that," Sakura said and decided to change topic. She sat down on the floor, knees drawn to her chest like the spirit. Not that she was afraid; she was wearing a skirt and you cannot sit cross-legged in that. Besides, seiza (1) would have hurt.

"Anyway, Ha-ha-haojia..." Sakura struggled with the Chinese name of the little spirit that Syaoran told her.

"Just Zashiki would do, Sakura-sama..."

"Okay, Zashiki-san. What was the message for me?"

"Um... It's about mountain spirit Fuji-sama. She's very sick, and she needs your help."

"Fuji-sama...?" Sakura repeated the name as she thought about it. "You mean the spirit who lives in Mt. Fuji?"

"No, Fuji-sama does not live in Mt Fuji. She is Mt. Fuji." Zashiki let go of her legs as she got more used to Sakura.

"She is...?" Sakura had an image of a very slim mountain wearing a pink kimono in her head. _(Author and readers collapse)_ "Hoe... How did she become sick?"

"I don't know..." Zashiki replied. "I normally live on another mountain, but I would travel about and get to know my neighbors. I've known Fuji-sama for a long time, and we'd sit by the rim (2) of her mountain, watching the moon over tea and chatting about anything under the stars. Most of the time, it was about some of the people who climbed her peak to offer their prayers and wishes. And she'd always tell me how proud she was of the people she saw grow from villages to dynasties to the cities of present day...

"She was the wisest and most beautiful of all spirits I've ever met... I've always wanted to be like her...

"Then one day, when I dropped by, she was down with a headache and complaining that her blood all seem to want to burst out of her. I asked her if it was that time of her cycle to let it out, but she only laughed and said that it was a temporal imbalance in the ki flowing through her. We left it at that... But Fuji-sama got worse and worse afterwards... It came to a point that she was bedridden and growing more and more delirious. I couldn't leave her side and everyday I'd shout out to any spirit passing by for help. Most of them did their best, but nothing worked... I-I was at a loss..."

By then, Zashiki was sobbing and her voice started to quiver. "Then just three days ago, Fuji-sama was suddenly lucid and she told me to go and find the Witch of Dimensions for help. She-she said that this has happened before and that if things weren't stopped a massive disaster would be imminent... I didn't want to go because that meant that I had to leave Mt Fuji, but her intensity in her face and speech as she pleaded made me leave. She lost consciousness once I agreed...

"I flew as fast as I could to the Witch and she in turn directed me to you, saying that only you had the power to cure Fuji-sama..."

Sakura wondered who the Witch of Dimensions was but before she could ask Zashiki suddenly clasped her hands and pleaded with tears forming in her eyes. "Sakura-sama must help Fuji-sama! Whatever's happening to Fuji-sama...it's corrupting her! Please!"

"I will do my best, don't worry," Sakura said, gently patting the distressed spirit's hands. "You must've had quite a time these three days. Why don't you go back home and leave the worrying to us?"

"I can't bear to go home, with Fuji-sama in such a state... Yet I can't return to Fuji-sama's side either..." Zashiki trailed off.

Sakura blinked. "Why can't you return to Mt. Fuji?"

Zashiki suddenly tensed up and pulled her hands out from Sakura's. The sorceress wondered if she had said something wrong.

"I... didn't follow Yuuko-san's instructions completely..." Zashiki started to speak and stopped almost immediately, feeling like she had done a terrible sin. But on seeing Sakura just watching in anticipation, the little girl found that maybe she had nothing to worry about and carried on. "I couldn't find you at first, and worry soon got the better of me, so I headed back to Mt. Fuji. But everything has changed. It was bitterly cold and wrapped in a blizzard I've never seen before. And there were these figures of dark silhouettes with no features roaming about her slopes and attacking other spirits in the vicinity..."

Outside, Syaoran frowned. It sounded like those shadows he had encountered while he was on a secret mission to Japan a couple of years back (3). _Could it be...?_

"... There was this particular figure that took a shape of a male human. He too had no features except glowing red orbs where one expect the eyes to be. I bumped into him while dodging the others... He-he tried to grab me but I managed to escape his grasp by turning into fireflies. He then cast this huge gust of wind from a flat rectangular object and it's was everywhere all of a sudden. I only remembered willing myself to fly as fast as I could. Somehow, I outran it..."

Zashiki started mewling again, and Sakura shifted herself closer to Zashiki, patting the spirit on her knee. "Well you're safe now. I don't know what I can do at the moment, but I'm sure Syaoran-kun and I can think of something soon."

"Thank you, Sakura-sama..." Zashiki replied shyly.

Sakura nodded. "Don't mention it."

"It's settled then..." Zashiki sniffed as she wiped the small beads out of her eyes and slowly stood up. Sakura followed suit. "I'll have to go now."

"Go where?"

"To Tsukimine Shrine," Zashiki said. "In exchange for the cure to Fuji-sama's disease, I agreed with The Witch of Dimensions to remain at the shrine and help out in anyway possible until Fuji-sama is well again. I really want to go and see how Fuji-sama is doing but a deal's a deal... So..."

The spirit gave Sakura a look of concern laced with worry. "...I'll be counting on you. Onegai-shimasu…"

"No prob--"

Sakura was just about to reply when the window behind Zashiki suddenly burst into shards with a tremendous crash. Both spirit and sorceress almost jumped out of their skins. The impact was closely followed by a flurry of yellow, blue and white that whizzed about sounding like a panicking kindergarten in the middle of a hurricane. Sakura could barely make out what the chipmunk-like voices were screaming about but she soon realized that the whirlwind was making a beeline for her. She shoved Zashiki out of harm's way, then spun round and made for the door. Syaoran was already on his feet and through the doorway at the first sign of danger; his _Fuuin no Ken _unsealed and ready. The boy flicked it up horizontally across his face as he released a talisman into the air and thrust the flat of the blade at the hovering charm.

**"Fong Yun Zhao Lai!"**

A small ball of highly pressured ki formed at the marked paper's core and erupted out as a whistling comet of dense air that quickly forked into multiple trails as they streaked towards their target. Sakura dove once Syaoran completed his incantation, the magic missiles passing just over the topmost strands of her hair. The incoming tornado was almost on top of Sakura when the roiling energies arrived and bored into the whirl. The spell ran counter to the tornado's spin and the force from Syaoran's summons quickly overwhelmed the crazed spirits. It tossed them, yelling in dismay and disorientation, across the room and hard into the corkboard. They made a strange slapping sound as they collided one after another and screamed again when the slab of cork, already knocked loose by them crashing into it, came free and went splat onto the floor, beings-side down.

With the offensive creatures out of the way, Syaoran dashed for Sakura, not even bothering to retrieve his talisman as the yellow scripture fluttered to the ground while he brushed past it. The girl had lifted herself a little way up when she felt a strong grip on her upper arm hoisting her to her feet. Sakura found herself only inches from Syaoran's face.

"Are you alright, Sakura?"

As expected, she was a little uneasy from being so close to Syaoran. Even so Sakura still managed to say coherently, "I'm fine. Thanks for your help, Syaoran..."

Syaoran relaxed visibly. "That's good..."

"Tengu-karasu!" Zashiki cried out suddenly.

"What?" Syaoran spat as he turned to face the back of the room where that voice had come from. As it turned out, Warashi had gone to the fallen notice board once she picked herself off the ground and she was holding up both hands above the board, eyes closed. Her body became enveloped in a dim blue glow. It slowly spread to the wall of cork which eased off the ground under the glow's influence. It moved about a meter before the spirit left it mid-air and crawled under. She later emerged with four sun-shaded dwarves dressed in blue overalls in her arms, their heads bobbing about like drunks. Syaoran caught sight of some yellow miniature surfboards and white tengu-fans on the floor before Zashiki dropped the board back onto them.

"Just what do you think you are doing?" Syaoran shouted as his blade shot back to shoulder level, aimed at the spirit.

Zashiki looked like she was about to melt, which she might have if not for Sakura jumping out from behind Syaoran and standing both arms stretched out in the point of his sword. "Syaoran! Please!"

"Sakura...?" The _Fuuin no Ken_ dipped a little.

"There has to be a reason for this!" Sakura stated firmly. "Please Syaoran you're overreacting..."

The boy held his ground for a while more before sighing in dejection. His sword fell to his side. "Do as you please."

"Trust me, Syaoran..." Sakura added in a low whisper before she turned to face Zashiki. "Please forgive Syaoran. He's just being protective… What are they?"

"I understand." The spirit let her head droop in sadness before motioning to the dwarves in her arms with her head. "They are my Tengu-karasu. They always followed me around, a really protective bunch... So yes, I know what Syaoran-sama means."

She was gently placing the fallen spirits on their backs on a nearby desk as she spoke. "I last saw my Tengu-karasu just before I left for Mt Fuji for the last time. I told them to stay away for their own safety, but as expected it took quite a bit of dodging to really lose them. After that run in with the shadow I suddenly sensed Sakura-sama's spirit force flaring up and I followed it all the way here..."

Sakura thought back to the morning's events and remembered her bumping into Syaoran as well as their madcap escape from her brother._ I must've seemed like a lighthouse then... Wait, does that mean other spirits like Zashiki know about the accident? Oh no! _Sakura sweat-dropped. And if she had eyes on the back of her head she would realize that Syaoran was wearing the same expression as well.

Zashiki did not notice that her audience had gone a little squirmy and continued her tale after setting down the last member of the Karasu. "They must have sensed me in danger and gone into a frenzy, but only caught up with me here and mistook Sakura for someone else."

She turned and bowed to the sorceress, catching her by surprise. "I'm sorry. It's my fault for returning to Mt. Fuji and getting everyone caught up in this."

"It's nothing really," Sakura replied uneasily. "I just hope the four of them are okay..."

Zashiki shot back up. "Four?"

Syaoran and Sakura blinked. "Yes, four..."

The spirit glanced at the dizzy spirits on the desk and her eyes widened in horror. "What happened to you? Why are there only four of you left?"

The fattest dwarf stirred a little, and groaned out a reply, with the rest chiming in dazedly.

"Ow... That shadow..."

"...We tried our best to stop him..."

"...Sanchi got caught... At least you got away..."

"...His sacrifice wasn't in vain..."

Zashiki sank into a nearby chair, her face in her hands, her body quivering intermittently. "This can't be happening... Why didn't I do as I was told…?"

Silence fell upon the group, save the soft sobbing of Warashi. Both sides were too shocked to say anything.

Syaoran grew a little impatient and checked his watch. It had been a good thirty minutes since they left their class; he expected their homeroom teacher to be checking on the class anytime now. That would mean that they were going to be missed, and it was definitely going to be a chore to explain their absence. The awkward silence was not hastening things, but he was not about to interrupt Sakura and Zashiki's conversation, if there was any left. He could see Sakura trying to think of something to say, maybe to comfort the distressed spirit. Syaoran wanted to find out more about the shadows, to be able to better plan their next course of action but he wondered if he was ever going to get an answer if Zashiki locked up at his every move.

A few more futile seconds ticked by.

_Okay that's it. _Syaoran had enough of losing precious time and cleared his throat. "There's... nothing we can do for him for now... But rest assured we'll get him back. And Fuji-sama as well. We... need to get back to class. We've been gone for too long."

Zashiki nodded quietly and Syaoran tugged lightly at Sakura's wrist, indicating that they should leave the spirit alone. She was hesitant at first, but she soon obeyed and followed Syaoran's lead out of the classroom. The sorceress decided to take one last look before they stepped out of the doorway and she gasped.

The spirits had disappeared.

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**Author's Note**

(1) "Proper sit", the kind where you are sitting in a kneeling fashion often on cushions. It is stereotypical of Japanese culture and is infamous for making the legs of the uninitiated go numb, including mine. : P

(2) In this case she is referring to the rim of the crater at Mt Fuji's summit, not the rim of the base. The word in Japanese is directly translated as "rim" so I opted for it instead of a wordy phrase which would spoil the flavor of the sentence.

(3) Refers to _Enchanted Runes: Xue Lang Zuan _which, unfortunately, is still in the planning stages… Hehe…

Big thanks to my beta **firnoviel **and to everyone who has been following the new _Enchanted Runes _so far! Please keep the reviews coming because you know it really helps when you come home from work at a military base worn out and uninspired. : P I've really big plans for the revamped series and I can hardly wait till I get to the thick of this plot. But sometimes it just takes so long! Hai… Just a point to note: when the characters speak it's by default in Japanese unless stated otherwise and I've "subbed" it into English so there may be times when I'd choose a word that seems to be out of place but was just a direct translation of the word/phrase used. I'll put it in the A/N to explain what the character meant.

Everyone go watch Tsubasa Chronicle Episode 37 "Doodler Mokona" if you want some serious chibi SxS fluff! Puu:)

---And now, as a special treat for my readers, it's---

**PODCASTER KERO on "Writer's Block"**

"Yo! It's everyone's favorite tiger! Did ya miss me? I'm sure you did! To keep with the times (and save director Kha-sama some film) I'm starting this audiologue for all of Sakura-chan and my fans out there! Each time we'll bite into juicy issues and trivia of all things CCS, CLAMP and _Enchanted Runes_. Excited yet?

"Kha says it right; when you write it can get really slow, especially when nothing seems to come out right! Let's have a little chat with our stars Sakura-chan and the kozu, who were on the receiving end of his latest writer's block!

**Kero**: Sakura-chan! Come on in!  
**Sakura**: (_Whispering_) Is this okay? (_Normal voice_) Evening everyone!  
**Kero**: It's A-O-K Sakura-chan! Tell us about what happened during shooting yesterday.  
**Sakura**: Oh we would normally do a few takes for each scene 'cause either Kha-sama wouldn't be happy with something or Tomoyo-chan would be disagreeing with him. But yesterday because of the many sudden swerves we had to redo the Tengu-karasu attack almost four times the usual amount!  
**Kero**: That bad now? Poor Sakura-chan! Though I think the kozu deserved it…  
_(Sounds of a scuffle, followed by Kero gacking)  
_**Sakura** _(Angry)_: Hey break it up! You guys promised not to fight!  
**Kero** _(clears throat)_: Thank you Sakura-chan! So what were the changes?  
**Sakura**: In the actual event nothing much happened. The Tengu-karasu had just crashed into the window and never broke through. But Kha wanted to sensationalize the whole thing and so in the first take I was supposed to be attacked by the Karasu after they broke through. At first I was still standing after the attack, and then Kha-sama changed his mind and got me to be knocked out instead! Syaoran-kun then got a part where he was to be cradling me after the attack so no complaints from him! Am I right, Syaoran-kun? _(You can almost hear her smiling)_  
**Syaoran** _(Stammering at first)_: Uh… Yeah, correct, Sakura-chan… But acting is so hard, especially when I'm supposed to be in a lot of heartache. The Cleric kept retaking that scene because he kept complaining how I wasn't bringing out enough emotion! At least Sakura-chan's make-up made it easier because they looked so real…  
**Sakura**: Yes! Kha-sama got Tomoyo-chan's make-up artists to paint me with all those cuts and wounds that really freaked me out when I looked into the mirror! Then Tomoyo-chan came running in and stopped everything. You should have seen her clobbering Kha-sama for making me look so ugly, in her words. _(Giggles) _She wanted me to be the one retaliating instead, and we almost re-filmed the part where we were running towards the class 'cause I would have my cards with me then. In the end, Kha-sama and Tomoyo-chan managed to work out a compromise which is the final result you see here.  
**Kero**: Well I'm glad things turned out fine! And I'm sure our readers and listeners will have lots to say to Kha-sama about this latest chappie so before you go, press that little purple button in the corner. We appreciate all comments and criticisms because it all goes to making _Enchanted Runes _even better! That's all for now…

"**Podcaster Kero, out!"**


	7. The 4th Rune: The Plan

Warning

"All rights to images, sounds and packages contained in this production are owned by Daidouji Corporation and I, Daidouji Tomoyo and only viewings in private homes are allowed. Any other usages, copying, changes, display, broadcast whole of or part of would mean discourtesy to me as well as my Sakura-chan and will be punished by us not speaking to you anymore."

-**Daidouji Tomoyo**, from _Tomoyo's Video Diaries_.

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**Kha the Cleric** presents  
Beta'd by **firnoviel**

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**Enchanted Runes I : The Feiwang Cards**

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Syaoran and Sakura had been running down the empty hallway when the warrior stopped suddenly and the sorceress bounced off him. The young Kinomoto opened her mouth to comment, but Syaoran held his hand up and cut her off. He leaned over the corner and peered at their classroom door. He quickly pulled back; Sakura could see that something was up.

"Anna-sensei." Syaoran breathed in his one-word manner while his mind raced to find some way through. "She's checking the class attendence. we've been missed..."

"Hoe..." Sakura replied likewise. "Maybe she'll walk off after a while?"-Both students leaned over the side again. Sure enough, the chocolate-haired homeroom teacher was still there, talking to the class representative Ryouga and wearing a stern look on her face. she had been Sakura's teacher for The past two years but she had never seen Anna so... disturbed before. She wondered if she was going to get an earful if they just walked up to the teacher right then.

"I'll say that I panicked and ran off, so you went after me," Syaoran said, swallowing a lump in his throat. He, a coward? He thought about the possibility of someone buying that.

"O-okay, I guess that's our only choice." Sakura replied haltingly.

Someone coughed loudly behind them. "What are the two of you doing outside of the classroom?"

Syaoran and Sakura hastily spun round, and froze. Of all people to catch them, it had to be the one and only Takamichi Makoto, Tomoeda's nightmare teacher and discipline master. He had always been around, even when Syaoran joined the Tomoeda family of public schools; it's just that they never met him in person. Syaoran felt that they were about to find out for themselves if the things they heard of him were true.

"Hmm?" Takamichi questioned with his eyebrow as he held onto his crossed-arm stance.

"Eto..." Both of them began in unison. Syaoran opened his mouth to speak, but the lump remained in his throat and he stayed muted.

"Why are you silent?" Takamichi demanded once more, this time with several ideas of corrective torture forming in his head at such a rate that he just managed to suppress a sick grin. "Don't tell me the both of you were--"

"--looking for the first aid box!" Someone familiar cried out from behind the magical duo as she burst around the corner, startling everyone, including the devilish educator.

Sakura responded first. "Tomoyo-chan!"

"Ah there you are! I was looking all over for the both of you!" Tomoyo acknowledged as she squeezed through them and went for the old man. "Sorry sir, I hope we haven't caused you any trouble."

Makoto was taken aback. "W-What's the meaning of this?"

"There was an accident in our classroom during the earthquake, so Sakura-chan and I went to go get the first aid kit. Syaoran-kun couldn't leave Sakura Alone and came along. Little did we expect the box to be shaken off its hook! we've been looking for it ever since, but luckily i just found it at the bottom of the stairs. I hope nothing's broken inside."

Takamichi coughed somewhat uneasily as he griped inside that someone had gone and spoiled his fun. "I understand."

He turned to leave, then decided that his ego needed saving. "But don't you ever run off without notifying someone again."

"Got it!" Tomoyo replied in an ultra-cheery voice.

It was not until Takamichi-sensei had taken the far corner for the stairs to the staffroom that the Cardcaptors were able to breathe again.

"That was close," Sakura panted. "Thanks Tomoyo-chan."

"It was obvious the both of you were going to need back up like that," the raven-haired girl replied, demonstrating her namesake once again. "I mean, you just dashed off all of a sudden. Besides, both of you got the same look that I've seen before."

"What look?" Syaoran asked.

"The 'I-sense-a-card' look." Tomoyo smiled. "Come on, what was it about?"

The doushi searched the card mistress' face for an answer but only got a shrug in return. "Erm well... I shouldn't be getting you involved in a mess this big..."

"Oh, I insist!" Tomoyo huffed. "If it's a big adventure involving my Sakura-chan I definitely have the right to hear about it! Not to mention that you still owe me one for rescuing you, Syaoran-kun."

Syaoran stared into her violet orbs as though he was trying to will her into changing her mind. But a while later he prayed he would not regret it and gave up. "It can't be helped then."

The boy gave as succinct a summary as possible of the events that had transpired in the last hectic half-hour of their lives. Both of them took turns, filling in the blanks left by the other. sakura covered the whole part of when she almost got attacked by the Tengu-karasu. Syaoran left it out because he thought that would worry Tomoyo needlessly; but knowing her friend, sakura felt that leaving it out would worry her more. that turned out to be true as the sharp camera-girl then pounced on a small bruise that sakura sustained when she dove for cover and made a big fuss out of it. it was only after sakura finished her tale that tomoyo calmed down somewhat.-The young Daidouji pounded her fist into her palm as the magic users concluded their report. "Oh no! That means I'm going to be so busy!"

To be more precise, Tomoyo calmed down for a while, before shooting off in the _other_ direction of restlessness.

"How so?" Sakura asked innocently; Syaoran already got the hint and started turning pale.

"Well like this!" Tomoyo went all glittery about the gills as she held her cheeks in a trance. "Think of all the costumes I got to sew for my Sakura-chan! It's been a while since I've made something like this for Sakura-chan; I hope I'm not too rusty... I wonder if I've stocked up on enough materials. Good thing my camera's still in top condition. Wait I just ran out of DV tapes! Now I gotta head over to the Piffle Princess to get some more, and it has to be so far from school!"

Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other and sweat-dropped, hard.

"Hoe..." Sakura groaned in her own cute way.

"Erm... I'll go check on Yamazaki-kun." Syaoran shuffled away hastily.

"Haha!" Tomoyo squealed happily.

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**The 4th Rune: The Plan**

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"... And on this matter we have Dr. Shuichiro Kobota on the line. He is the Head of Geology, Science Faculty of the University of Tokyo. Good evening Dr. Shuichiro. Glad to have you with us," cackled Tomoyo's hand phone as it carried the report live over NTT DoCoMo's 3G network.

The pink clamshell, heavily-customized to look as though Sakura had etched her magic circle into its plastic outer frame, was probably the only piece of technology that the girl owned which was not made by Daidouji corporation; after all, d-Corp, as it is often referred to as on the Nippon bourses, does not own a mobile phone network, yet. As it were, Sakura, Naoko, Rika and Tomoyo were the only ones present at the sunset-bathed school gates. the girls were waiting for the missing three to appear before they went home for their summer holidays. in the meantime, they decided to follow the news.

Sakura thought through the eventful day as the people in the small oblong screen exchanged brief pleasantries. Syaoran was with Chiharu at the sick bay while Takashi was being patched up and only came back towards the end of homeroom. Fortunately for the latter, the injuries he sustained were mainly scratches without embedded debris and the cut to his left temple was not severe enough to warrant stitches; the head wounds tend to bleed a lot. As it turned out, Syaoran had applied to come to school after the summer break but out of eagerness he appeared two months early, catching even their homeroom teacher, Miss Wayne, by surprise. His routine introduction to the class was hurried; just name and age, no background information as the teacher did not get a chance to speak with him before class. Sakura had to fill in the rest of the blanks when her class swamped her during lunch break. No prizes for guessing which side of the human race numbered more in _that _riot. No prizes for guessing which brave soul managed to pluck poor Sakura from the raging sea, either. But for the rest of the day, Syaoran was dead serious and hardly spoke, a sharp turnaround from the good natured side of him Sakura had seen that morning. Zashiki's plea did weigh down on her heart, but she did not expect Syaoran to be affected so much. In fact, just after school ended Syaoran excused himself to make an urgent call; something told the sorceress that the boy knew more about the incident than he would let on. Sakura sighed inwardly. She had hoped for a happy end to the school term after all; even more so when Syaoran turned up unexpectedly.

"...We have been actively monitoring the seismic activity of Mount Fuji full time and recently there has been an unprecedented spike in the occurrence of tremors, including today's. Interestingly, the epicenters of all the quakes are very close to one another. The quakes originate from an area about three kilometers below the core of Mt. Fuji. It is potentially worrying that the tremors seem to keep increasing in intensity; today's quake measured 4.2 on the Richter scale; last week's was 3.9. However we feel that there is no cause for concern regarding the possibility of an eruption, pH levels of the five lakes near the mountain are holding stable within normal ranges..."

"MINNA-SAN!"

The girls turned back to the school block, seeing Chiharu waving at them as she tugged Yamazaki by the crook of his arm. Yamazaki was right were he always was; on the pigtailed beauty's left, one hand on his blue to black OP sling bag, the other at his waist and smiling through his eye slits. And if not for the square-inch piece of gauze taped to the side of his head, it would have been impossible to tell that there was a near-miss in class that day. Sakura could see Syaoran trudging along a short distance behind the couple.

"About time!" Huffed Naoko as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. At that, Tomoyo flipped her phone shut in a hurry, cutting the professor off and startling Rika, who had been focusing on his brilliant commentary. "Don't tell me you gave him a _full once-over_ before even thinking of leaving the classroom?"

"Wh-what once-over?" Stammered a slightly-flustered Chiharu as they reached the group. But nothing could shake good old Yamazaki.

"Aw, it's nothing more than old chat. Besides did you know that giving people once-overs were as common as once-unders before? But once-unders died out when girls started wearing skirts..."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure," Chiharu grumbled. She started dragging the boy by the collar at the word 'but'. However, it did nothing to stop his storytelling; his know-it-all finger still held its ground, waggling in the air. But inwardly she was glad takashi saved her from having to answer any questions of what really happened(1) in class.-Sweat drops appeared by everyone's foreheads but before they were even half a second old, Tomoyo set her secret plan into action and pulled a surprised Naoko and Rika after Chiharu and takashi, leaving Sakura in the dust, clueless as usual.

"Ano..." Sakura began as Syaoran reached her spot and glanced at the departing group.

"Ne, Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo shouted back. "We'Re going over to my place to do some brainstorming for this year's Nadesico Festival! So we're making a move first!"

"What about me?"

"You've got something to do in the meantime." Tomoyo gave Sakura a wink and a wry smile before resuming the group's conversation.

Sakura had question marks sticking out of her chestnut locks. "What's gotten into them...?"

"Since you're busy I'll--" Syaoran said as he turned to leave but Sakura interrupted him, shaking her head as though she was bothered by an insect.

"I-ie! I'm not busy! I wonder why Tomoyo-chan said I was?"

The boy found himself admiring Sakura's frustrated pout. Then he recalled what he had in mind.

"Oh... Then uh... Do you mind if I... walk you home?"

Sakura let go of her face and smiled in reply. "Of course not!"

**---Enchanted Runes Eyecatch---  
**Daidouji Tomoyo

By the time they left Main Street, the star named Sol was getting ready to turn in for the night. It dipped lower on the horizon every minute, its orange glow painting the neighborhood in warm hues and ever-lengthening shadows. The birds had long returned to their nests, cackling as they fed their chicks and drowning out the crickets, minutes at a time. There was a light breeze in the air that smelled a bit like charcoal; it was almost as if the land was breathing a sigh of relief after receiving timely respite from the brutal summer heat. And when the shadows grew long enough to cover entire walls, the cackling died away like a parting curtain, and the orchestra of insects took center stage.

"... And given that we're probably going to need a day to pack our things, we'll set out on Sunday." Syaoran had been elaborately going over the plan he had invented with a most absorbed sakura and ended his long lecture with a dejected sigh and cat-eyed stare. "we're going to need daidouji-san's vehicles since we can't fly there."-He guessed that whatever transport Tomoyo provided would be rigged to the hilt with cameras, hidden or not. That would be disturbing to anyone, let alone the mildly attention-phobic magical duo.

"'Because we don't want to alert the shadows,'" Sakura quoted the boy. "You've certainly have everything thought out! That leaves only finding how to solve Fuji-sama's problem..."

Syaoran nodded. "That'll be up to whatever Meiling can dig up from the ancestral records. And whatever clues we can find. In any case we have to be serious..."

He puffed before continuing, "I read from a book in the Clan Library that earthquakes are the signs of the End of Days(2)..."

"That's horrible..." Sakura said as she closed her eyes in thought. The girl was only five then, but images of the destruction exacted by the great Hanshin Earthquake remained clear in her mind. At that time, she and Touya were the only ones at home when the tremors hit. She remembered a couple of flower vases crashing to debris next to her as she struggled to get off the living room rug. Her brother then scooped her up and they huddled together under the dining table. It was then that both siblings realized that their mother's photo was rocking about unsteadily on the nearby counter. Sakura had wanted to go get it, but Touya seemed to have read her mind and darted out instead, catching the framed picture just as it keeled over the edge. Thankfully, the boy made it back without injury. They had been very lucky; Tomoeda was spared the most brutal shockwaves due to the town's distance from the epicenter; Kobe, which sat above the epicenter, suffered immense damage, with many buildings and roads toppled while some of the others were gutted in flames started when gas pipes broke. Sakura shuddered at the televised images of the homeless seeking refuge in a relief shelter. "We must do what we can to prevent that disaster, whatever it is like."

"Yes we must," Syaoran said as he gave Sakura a sideways glance. "And therefore you have to be more careful. Keep your cards with you at all times."

Sakura nodded sadly. "Oh. Sorry..."

Because she was hanging her head Sakura failed to notice that Syaoran was looking at her, his expression unreadable as he pondered on whether to move on to a more sensitive topic. It made him cringe inside; he wondered how Sakura would react. It took him a while longer to muster the courage to speak.

"Sakura-chan?" The boy piped up, the sunset glinting off of the amber in his eyes. He kept his gaze on the coming road as he spoke.

"Yes?"

"My mother was the last caller."

"Hoe?" Sakura cried out suddenly, surprising Syaoran as she stopped in her tracks. She had learned over the years that every time Madam Yelan took the initiative to dial the phone it was rarely anything good, and it often meant separation...

Syaoran sensed fear clouding her emerald eyes and hastily clarified, "It-it's about Zashiki's plight! Niang(3) had sensed great darkness massing in Japan and was worried about us. She wants us to stay sharp and wary of trouble...

And more cautiously, he stated, "...especially you."

"Me?" Sakura thought aloud.

"Yes..." Syaoran gave pause before turning to continue down the road as he spoke. "She feels that you might be targeted by such forces. After all I-- no I mean--Y-you told me that uh... You almost froze in that blizzard (4)..."

"Oh that..." Sakura trailed off as her mind traveled two years back in time. A sudden blizzard in the middle of summer had literally frozen everything in its tracks. She remembered suddenly being alone when one by one her friends turned to ice statues. Rika holding her sides while Terada-sensei was placing his coat on her shoulders... Naoko asking for someone to turn up the heater... Takashi shouting at an unconscious Chiharu... Tomoyo's last command for Sakura to run before frost took over...That terrifying night echoed hauntingly in her mind. Sakura shivered. Only she had resisted the cold snap, but not for long. The freeze sapped at her mana as she battled snow and sleet searching for its source. She remembered the burning wish to return her friends to normal slowly being snuffed out as the storm continued its relentless assault. She remembered growing more and more fatigued, her head becoming heavier and heavier... She remembered falling into the ankle-deep snow. She could no longer feel her feet; she saw crystals gradually eating at her wand, creeping up her arm... For the first time in a long time, she felt helpless and desperate. She could barely will herself to go on, and when fog started clouding her vision, she had one name on her lips...

"Sakura-chan? Are you there?"

"Ho-hoe?" Sakura jumped as she crashed back to reality. Syaoran had stopped walking when he heard the sorceress mumbling to herself. And when he realized that she was clutching tightly at her sleeves as she remained rooted to her spot the boy went over and gave her a good shake. It had taken quite a few to knock her out of her trance.

"Sakura-chan? What happened?" Syaoran's seriousness had faded from his features; in its place was concern laced with anxiety.

"Syaoran--? Oh, haha, nothing much..." Sakura recovered and tried to disperse the heavy mood. "Just memories..."

"Oh..." Syaoran turned away, dipping his head so low his eyes hid in his fringe. Inside he was boiling over from the pain of hiding the truth from her. But he was afraid to admit to it_ now_; what would she think of him when she knew he did _that_... "Sorry to bring them up..."

"It really is nothing..." Sakura smiled sheepishly as she fanned herself as though it would blow away the tide of memories suddenly swarming into her mind. Contrary to her reply, Sakura was bothered. The recurrent memories included someone familiar thawing her out and carrying her. There was an image of being in a cave as well. and she remembered that same figure keeping her warm in a manner that made her flush really badly every time the memory played back... Sakura later woke up running a high fever under Anna-san's care... she said someone left the sorceress at her doorstep and by the time the teacher answered the doorbell thE whiteout had already clouded out any trace of the departing person. that figure... Who could it be? Sakura mentally ran through the list of magic users in her head again. Neither Eriol nor Syaoran was in Japan at that time. It could not have been Syaoran's mother because Sakura was sure that figure was no where as tall as the Li matriarch. And she DID release a few cards didn't she... She had let it rest that it was they who saved her.

Half a meter away, Syaoran kicked himself inwardly for being at a loss once again. He reminded himself that that the reason for him to walk Sakura home was to discuss the plans, finalize a meeting time and come clean... The Li matriarch had prodded him verbally on that last point many times. The boy shook his head. It was now or never. He took a deep breath and, hoping for the best, spun round stiffly, catching Sakura by surprise. "Sakura-chan?"

"W-what is it?"

Syaoran wrung his hands behind his back while he found the floor rather interesting. "You know...remember the letter you wrote about that blizzard..."

There was a lapse of silence until Sakura broke it. "Uh-huh..."

"Well... Um... You got it wrong... It was not your cards who saved you..."

_Not my cards? Then that figure... _Sakura thought as Syaoran opened his mouth to say something.

"It-it er... was-- um--"

_BRRING-BRRING!_

**"HOE!"**  
_"WA!"_

The boy jumped with a yelp as his phone chose the right moment to go off with a bang. He was not a big fan of technology and had let Meiling handle the settings of the Samsung Chocolate, which explained the outdated, outlandish ringtone. Syaoran's hands were shaking inexplicably and had almost dropped the phone if not for a brief bout of rather comical juggling before he managed to regain a grip on the situation and slap the gadget to the side of his head. "wHAT?"

"WHAT?" Came a most indignant reply. "I almost got buried alive by a rotting shelf of books while looking for something _you _wanted and that's how you greet me?"

syaoran cringed and stammered. "oh it's you, Meiling."-"CHE! You seem so heartless at times lee Xiao Lang," the black-haired girl on the other side of the South China Sea replied in Cantonese, their standard practice fOr 'securing' the line. "Anyways I found something about that old event Zashiki Warashi talked about."

"What is it?" Syaoran said in Japanese because he wanted Sakura to listen in on the conversation. To make things more obvious, he hit the 'speaker' option on the screen.

Meiling took the hint and switched to Japanese. "According to an old scripture..." There were some sounds of ruffling paper. "...there was a massive war that occurred in Edo bay during the Dark Ages. Allied mundane cavalry supported by a handful of mages versus an entire army of demons led by a mystery man called The Enchanter. Guess who one of the magical cheerleaders is."

Syaoran frowned. "Clow."

"Uh-huh." You could almost hear her nod. "That was a tough battle. Whole warrior families were wiped out by the time the Allies managed to retake Edo and push up Mount Fuji's summit. We're lucky the Li clan's ancestor was too young to hold a sword and was left back at home. The point to note is that, throughout the whole skirmish, **Mount Fuji threatened to erupt "black rain"** and, according to this script, that **it was due to influence from the demons**. The next thing we know from the record is that Clow returned from the mountain having done something which quelled her fury."

"Hoe..." Sakura said sadly. "Clow Reed never mentioned anything like this before... So many people died... He must have been very sad..."

"Was that you, Sakura-chan?" Meiling said the moment she heard the sorceress' faint voice from afar. "Yes he must have, for the next thing recorded here is his passing..."

"What's the title of the scripture?" syaoran suddenly cut in.-"_The life of clow_." Meiling replied after more ruffling. "Commissioned by our sole surviving ancestor from that era, li Feixiong."

"I see..."-That name rang more than a few bells. Feixiong's generation was one that made most of the legends that survived till this day; Syaoran himself remembered that many childhood tales of famous heroes ended at a battle that all but ruined his family a long time ago. It was also told to him that only after the battle did Clow marry into the Li clan and start a bloodline that ran true to the young doushi. He thought it was an arranged marriage because of the suddenness of circumstances; now with this new bit of information it was possible that Clow knew Feixiong's older sister and Reed's future wife Jingfei longer than recorded. But that was beside the point at hand.

"That's all?"

"As sad as it sounds, yes," Meiling affirmed. "There's a mountain of pretty much every unrelated thing under the Sun in the Library and it's going to take a while to sift through. I'm calling for supper now. Be back later."

"Mm." Syaoran nodded subconsciously. "Don't overwork yourself."

"You too, Syaoran. _Wan an _(5)," the warrior girl greeted as she hung up.

"_Wan an_."

Syaoran ended the call and slipped the black phone into his back pocket, muttering as he thought. "Demons are responsible..."

Sakura found herself unable to do anything but watch his frown thicken. "Syaoran..."

"I'm okay, Sakura." The boy said, trying to force a smile. But whatever he thought did not show up on his face.

Sakura drooped her head sadly, and then remembered where they left off. "Ne... What was it that you wanted to say just now?"

Syaoran sucked in another breath to steel himself again, but by then his resolve was completely shattered. In the end, he only let out a sigh. "It's nothing." _Another day perhaps..._

Sakura watched his face drop back to moody as he turned to leave. She huffed silently. She had to cheer him up! _Come on, happy thoughts, happy thoughts... Will this work?_

He felt something soft grab his hand. He looked back in surprise.

She looked away, feeling hot and bothered by her outburst of instinct.

It took a while for it to sink in. And when it did Syaoran had a pink smile for a reply and pulled her closer to his side as they continued into the dimming light.

Sakura couldn't help but feel like she was floating; it was almost like that dreamy, endearing warmth that saw her through the coldest night of her life...

------

There are places where even demons fear to tread. Far, far away, beyond the miniscule reach scientific Man has on the cosmos, through the twisting nether of void, there was a world similar to ours, a sickened, corrupted cousin swinging around a dying star that was counting down till its last reserves of helium were expended. In the dark hallways that ran through a wizard's stronghold there, long dormant forces were moving once more. And at its shadowy heart, a black pair of legionnaires brought themselves into the presence of their warlord.

"Ukiyora and I, Kiteno, your humble students, have returned," said the leading male in reverence as both his female accompaniment and himself bowed.

He may have been half-hidden by the dim light of the study, but it was clearly obvious that he was a big man swathed in flowing robes and mantle that announced his rank and class. He sat up a little straighter in his favorite armchair, shifting his head from where it was resting on his knuckles and nodded slowly, "Was the ceremony a success?"

The one called Kiteno replied, "Yes, my Master. We have gained the power of transcend time and space."

He smirked. "What have you chosen to sacrifice in return for that gift?"

Both Ukiyora and Kiteno chimed at once. "Our futures."

He cocked up an eyelid. "What use would I have of students with no future?"

This time, Ukiyora spoke first, her features unreadable and unmoving. "We live now in transience, with the sole aim to help our Master in his quest. We believe that once we have successfully aided Destiny, the rewards would be far greater than our puny, short futures."

"Having paid the largest price, unlike many of our colleagues," Kiteno continued with a barb on his tongue, prompting several murmurs of annoyance amongst the cloaked audience that had gathered by the bookshelves that lined the personal library. "we have gained the gift to go anywhere as you'd wish and do your bidding, as many times as you will. Command us as you please, my Master."-The wizard laughed. "Well said, my good students! To Terra you shall depart, for destiny is crying to be righted. Head for an ailing snow-peaked mountain and recover my book, for it is no longer safe that my book remains there under mere lock and key. It must be returned to me!"

Kiteno and Ukiyora bowed again. "We will not fail."

"Good. Now GO!" The head mage struck out a finger at the distance, and then he softened his tone. "And be careful. Let not confidence blind your senses."

"Yes, my dear Master..."

Their parting words echoed through the closed space of the study, as the air bent in and swallowed up the couple at the center of attention, whisking them away.

The arch wizard kicked back and gazed through the skylight at the blood-red, distant star hanging in the black abyss of what should have been day, as his other students shuffled with low mutters out of the room.

"About time…" He thought aloud. "Destiny will lead us from this blasted place…"

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

------

**Author's Note**

(1) Oh nothing much! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

(2) This is an idea evident in the illustrations of CLAMP's groundbreaking work _X/1999_.

(3) Traditional Chinese address for one's mother, rarely used nowadays.

(4) See _Enchanted Runes: Xue Lang Zuan / The Tale of the Snow Wolf_

(5) Translated as _Peaceful night_. It's the Chinese greeting for _Good night_.

I'm dreadfully sorry for the very long hiatus from the last post. First I had to juggle several projects at once, like _Mobile Angel Reiya _for Angelic Layer for example. Then, I had an accident and had 1 hand in a sling until very recently. I hope I didn't perform too badly; its been a long while since I've written seriously, and it seems that I wrote myself into a corner for ER... Special thanks to **L-Liadon **as well for her _Winged Hope_ fic for giving me energy to carry on with _Enchanted Runes_! Now that I think I managed to dig myself out, the next chapter's going to be more fun, i promise!-All suggestions and criticisms welcome! That purple button's my favorite thing when I read other fics, and I hope you'd agree with me. Thanks for your patience and time spent reading, minna-san! Really hope to see you next Rune!


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